Stent delivery systems are well-known in the art. The assembly of such delivery systems, however, often may be complicated. In particular, although it is common practice to load a stent into a sheath during assembly of a stent delivery system, such loading often involves numerous steps and often requires the use of multiple components (e.g., tools and fixtures) that are not part of the stent delivery system. For example, currently available stent delivery systems often require that a stent be loaded onto a delivery system by means of a funnel, basket or other similar device. However, it is often difficult and/or time-consuming to assemble a stent onto a delivery system by such means. Accordingly, there is a need for simplified methods of loading a stent into stent delivery systems during assembly of the same.